Effective Modeling and Simulation of Engineering Problems with COMSOL Multiphysics

Mastery of finite element theory is necessary to write finite element program, but it is not necessary to use COMSOL Multiphysics package. It is only necessary to understand the physical problem at hand, how to use the finite element program, and how to interpret the results. This paper gives an introduction to modeling in COMSOL Multiphysics, as being employed in the course heat transfer, by discussing the basic steps of modeling process, from generating the geometry to post-processing. This was demonstrated by applying the package to steady-state heat conduction in a domain. Three different temperature profiles, of different orientation, were obtained from the domain, and COMSOL Multiphysics automatically generated the graphical illustration of the temperature profile. The output of the package was compared with the solutions generated by analytical application of finite difference method to the same case. A spreadsheet program was used to graphically illustrate the profile for the analytical solution. The results were in good agreement. The evaluation illustrates the powerful and flexible nature of COMSOL for solving scientific and engineering problems; and as teaching and research tool in engineering education.